Accounting (M.S.)

The Utica College Master of Science in Accounting degree is designed for students who have a BS degree in accounting or who have an undergraduate degree in business with a concentration in accounting.  The MS in Accounting is an online program. The program prepares students for work in public, private, and government accounting.

The MS in Accounting prepares students for the CPA exam and CPA licensure.  Combined with a typical undergraduate accounting degree, this program provides graduates with more than 33 credit hours in accounting, including 18-24 graduate hours, and more than 33 credit hours of general business, including 6-12 graduate hours.  These credentials should meet the academic course requirements for CPA licensure in most states.

The curriculum for the MS in Accounting consists of 18 semester hours of required accounting courses, a 3 credit hour required finance course and a 3 credit course in quantitative methods. Students can complete the program in 5 semesters if they meet all prerequisites and take 6 credit hours of classes per term.

Prerequisites for Admission to this Program

Before being admitted to this program, students must have completed all of the following:

1. At least 18 credit hours in accounting, which must include two three-hour courses in intermediate accounting as well as at least one course in each of the following:

• Auditing and Attestation Services
• Taxation
• Cost of Managerial Accounting

2. A minimum of 30 credit hours of general business courses including at least one course in each of the following:

• Microeconomics
• Statistics
• Finance

Accounting courses are not considered general business courses and cannot be used to satisfy this requirement. 

Graduates from this program will be able to:

• Identify valid accounting and tax standards and tax laws and formulate solutions to accounting and taxation problems citing authoritative resources.
• Analyze and evaluate business problems using a variety of techniques and devise data-driven solutions. 
• Use the FASB Accounting Standards Codification to evaluate and design solutions for complex accounting cases.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts and processes involved in performing an audit. 
• Analyze and apply accounting and financial information to facilitate strategic decision-making. 
• Describe common ethical dilemmas faced by accounting professionals and the individual’s responsibility in these situations.